A man found hanging in his jail cell at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center last month died by his own hand, the sheriff’s office said Thursday afternoon.

Joseph Allen Bauer, 45, of Murfreesboro, was being held on a misdemeanor merchant theft charge of less than $100. He was unable to make the $2,500 bail assessed after his arrest by the Smyrna Police Department.

He was found by detention center staff between 2 and 3 p.m. Nov. 16 after other inmates alerted them to Bauer’s condition. He died at St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital Nov. 20 without recovering from his injuries.

Change in responsibility

According to a release from the RCSO, detention center staff attempted CPR before Bauer was transported to the hospital.

Once his condition at the hospital became apparent, he was released on recognizance (ROR) by the Smyrna General Sessions Court Judge Lynn Alexander to eliminate the need for the sheriff’s office to provide round-the-clock surveillance of him while in the hospital, Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh said in a news release.

Alexander signed the ROR Nov. 16, the same date as jail staff found Bauer, according to the document.

The document shows a blank space for a line above where the instructions call for "Defendant's signature," and there's handwritten note under the unsigned space.

The document also lists a court date for Bauer, who was alive at the time, set for 9 a.m. Dec. 13.

Phone messages have left seeking comment from Judge Alexander, but she's been unavailable for comment.

Circuit Court Judge Barry Tidwell said he has occasionally agreed to ROR where inmates are facing serious medical conditions.

“There are times when a bond is amended to release on own recognizance when they are extremely ill, and it wouldn’t make sense in those cases to require round-the-clock guards when the individual is ill to the point where death is imminent,” said Tidwell, who recently resigned from being a General Sessions Court judge to become a Circuit Court trial judge. “To me, it’s a matter of fairness to the individual while also protecting the needs of the community.”

The case was investigated by the sheriff’s office Criminal Investigations Division. According to the RCSO, Bauer’s family told hospital staff not to release information on his condition to that agency. An internal investigation was launched by the sheriff’s office’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

No information on the result of that investigation has been released.

Continuing issues

Issues with staffing, facilities, policies and programs led to the decertification, which removed some levels of protection from liability and lawsuits. The TCI cited the handling of two 2016 suicides as factors in the decertification.

TCI reports at the time indicated that restraint and suicide checks were not being completed every 15 minutes as recommended and suggested hiring more staff.

The facility could have faced federal takeover before being recertified on June 7. At the time of the recertification, Sheriff Michael Fitzhugh thanked Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess and the county commission for approving additional employees.

Reach Mariah Timms at mtimms@dnj.com and on Twitter @MariahTImms. Reach Scott Broden at sbroden@dnj.com and on Twitter @ScottBroden.